Bo knows Bill Self?
If he didn’t know him before, he’ll know him soon enough. The 10th-year head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks will play in a celebrity softball game alongside former Royals like Bo Jackson, George Brett and Mike Sweeney on Sunday. Self, who played college hoops at Oklahoma State, was also apparently quite the softball savant back in the day.
“We had a big-time team in Stillwater (Okla),” Self told the press. “Seven, eight years after graduation, we pretty much ran that city league down there.”
The competition might be a tad stiffer in his next go-round. The softball game is part of the festivities surrounding the MLB All-Star Game, which will be held in Kansas City’s Kaufmann Stadium this year. As such, it has attracted big names like Ernie Banks, Andre Dawson, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield, Joe Carter and Mike Piazza. A whole host of actors, athletes and luminaries with local ties will take the field as well.
Given the surroundings, the basketball coach is hoping for at least one at-bat in front of the crowd. He doubts he’ll get a chance to pitch. " Jennie Finch is also playing,” Self told the press. “I would think (out of) Self/Finch, maybe she’d get the starting nod on that as well.”
Self will wear jersey number 08, an homage to his 2008 title-winning Jayhawk team. ESPN will televise the game at approximately 9:30 central time on Monday night, following the home run derby.
Eric Angevine is editor of Storming the Floor. He tweets @stfhoops.